Westmeath Rose Rachel Duffy broke down in tears as she was crowned the 2022 Rose of Tralee winner.
The 23-year-old was overcome with emotion as host Daithi O Se announced her name on stage after a jam packed two nights of live shows.
Rachel, who opened up about losing her mother as a child, wowed the judges and audience as she sang traditional song 'Teddy O'Neill' in Tralee for the final.
Speaking afterwards, the teary Drama graduate from Rosemount, told Daithi: “I’m just in total shock, we are having a great year in Westmeath this year, and now we have the Rose of Tralee.
“I would love for my mam to be here but she is looking at me tonight and I hope I made my family proud.”
She is taking over from the longest ever running Rose of Tralee title holder, Dr. Sinead Flanagan, who won in 2019, before the festival was halted for almost three years.
After two years of cancellations due to Covid, the annual Rose of Tralee International Festival returned this week a bang, with 33 brand new Roses all taking to the stage.
The lively show kicked off with Derry Rose, Aine Morrison, 25, who performed a moving piece on the piano that she wrote herself.
The red headed musician, who went to the school Derry Girls was based on, said the personal piano piece, self titled, ‘Release’ was inspired by a tough time in her life.
READ MORE: What does the Rose of Tralee winner actually get as a prize? Jewellery, hotel stays and a car
She told Irish Mirror: “I’ve played since I was about six or seven maybe, but I look really grumpy when I play it. But it is because i am concentrating and my mammy came to me and said ‘you better be smiling when you are playing on that TV,’ she laughed.
“I’m playing a piece I composed myself when I was doing my A levels and kind of going through a hard time of like stress of the exams and stuff. And music has always kind of been my release to put everything out there, and my parents always said they knew I was stressed when I took out the piano and gave it a beating like hitting every key, so I wrote that song then.”
The Rose, who recently received a Postgraduate Diploma in Physician Associate Studies and a Bachelors degree in Biomedical Science, added: “And just before we came here and myself and my dad were talking and he said ‘what do you want to call it, it can’t just be a piece of music you wrote, like it needs a name.
“And my dad was like well what about ‘release’ because that was your release with stress and anxiety and all.”
“Only really family have ever heard it, so it is mad that it is going to be live on TV on RTE on the Rose of Tralee stage.
“But piano is my comfort, so when everyone was asking am I not nervous to play on stage, I said ‘no, I'm more nervous to speak, people might be like ‘we need subtitles with the Derry Rose,’ she joked.
Dubai Rose, Aileen Mc Alister, brought the party to the grand finale show, as she tried to break a world record live on stage.
The 28-year-old from Co. Antrim, partook in the world record of the longest Riverdance line in 2013, with 1,693 dancers.
And the primary school teacher roped Daithi, and the 1200 audience members in attendance at the live broadcast from the Munster Technological University’s Kerry Sports Academy, to try to replicate it with the audience.
Toronto Rose, Maysen Tinkler, spoke candidly about her recent diagnosis with autism as she took to the stage, known to fans as ‘the Dome’.
She told Daithi: “It was a little over a year ago, and it was a relief getting the diagnosis. Growing up I always felt different, so it was difficult not knowing why, so it is really great to be here.
“I lacked hope a lot, where was I going to go with my life, what will I do, and this has been absolutely incredible.”
She went on to wow the crowd with an 80s Rock medley on the drums.
Kerry Rose, Édaein O’ Connell, enchanted her home crowd when she took to the stage later on, with a rendition of The Night Visiting Song, made famous by the Dubliners.
But the journalist, 27, admitted it was a last minute change after losing her voice throughout the festivities.
Speaking ahead of the show, she told us: “I was originally going to sing the Land of the Gael, because I sang that at my section night, it is by a local man’s brother, Gary McMahon, who is a fantastic song writer but it is a bit too high for my voice at the minute.
“So it is now the Night Visiting Song, it was Luke Kelly’s last recorded performance, so it is a proper emotional song.
“So I said once I get through it I will be screaming because I have been on voice rest for the last two weeks which has been difficult,” she joked.
As the home Rose, there had been a lot of buzz around her chances of winning the show throughout the festival.
But she said she didn’t let the pressure get to her, and instead deleted all social media in the run up to the show.
“They say there is pressure being the Kerry Rose but I haven’t really found that. Like I know you could feed into that if you are more inclined, but you know what it is just nice to represent my county and it has been such a great experience.
“It has been emotional today and I think I was more emotional about the fact it could be ending and I wish we could have a good sleep and then go on and do another few weeks of it.”
Irish band Wild Youth finished off the night of entertainment with a performance whilst the judges went off to pick their winner.
Meanwhile, host Daithi, who is married to former New Jersey Rose, Rita Talty, admitted he was looking forward to celebration pints and sleep as he wrapped up what he described as one of the ‘busiest’ Rose of Tralee International Festivals yet.
He told the Irish Mirror: “Oh I'm going for it. I can smell it [pints]. My last job is to deliver the new Rose of Tralee down to her parents and her family and friends and believe me, Jimmy Buckley will be in the fourth verse of the Rose of Tralee and I’ll be going for it. We will be still on air and I'll be going for it’.
“Ah we will have a few drinks tonight to wind down.
“And I’ll go to sleep for a while after this one alright, then Rita and Ogie are back [from trip to US]on Friday morning, so i’m looking forward to that.”
As the Jewellery sponsor to the Rose of Tralee International Festival, Tipperary Crystal the winner receives a lavish prize of a complete Tipperary Fine Jewellery collection, to compliment her style throughout the year of her reign.
In addition, each of the participating Roses during the 2022 Festival will all be gifted with their favourite sets of Tipperary Crystal jewellery to wear for each of the Selection Nights and to act as a keepsake post event.
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